Staff Reporter

The leaders of two of Derry’s main churches have jointly described the attempted murder of a police officer in the city this morning as appalling.

The Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown, and the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Ken Good, said the incident showed a callous disregard for the lives not only of the officer who was targeted but of the officer’s neighbours in Culmore.

In a joint statement the Bishops said: “We are appalled at this latest attempt to murder a PSNI officer in our city and relieved that the attack did not succeed.

“There can never be any justification for such a crime. It was wrong. It was evil. And it showed a callous disregard for the lives not only of the police officer targeted by the bombers but of the officer’s neighbours too.

“Today’s incident also shows a blatant disregard for the people of this city who have expressed their desire – repeatedly and overwhelmingly – for an end to violence. This attempted murder is, therefore, an attack on all of us.

“Our people want to move forward – together – to a better and brighter future. The bombers seem intent on taking us backwards and keeping us apart. They must not succeed.

“We, as church leaders, offer our prayers and support to the officer who was attacked this morning. And we urge anyone who has information about this attempted murder to share it with the PSNI.”